‘WAR COMES TO UNION’ EVENT OFFERS UNIQUE VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

‘War Comes to Union’

Event Offers Unique Volunteer Opportunities

June 24, 2016. August 27th, 2016 is the date for the Monroe County Heritage Days Living History event: War Comes to Union! The organizers are looking for people interested in portraying local citizens of Union, West Virginia, during the 1860’s. The event seeks to recreate that time in 1864 when our town was visited by the Federal Army and occupied for five days. Citizens of the area were Southern Secessionist, Unionist and pacifist. Many were local farmers, laborers, blacksmiths, wheelwrights, teamsters, etc. We are seeking men, women, and children to bring that time ‘alive’. This unique volunteer opportunity is your chance to “step back in time” and live for a day as our ancestors did during that defining moment in American History. In May of 1864, Union General George Crook led his force through Union on a Sunday morning after his victory at Cloyd’s Mountain, VA. The 10,000 men, 200 wagons, 35 ambulances, 213 prisoners, and over 100 negroes of Crook’s army took six and a half hours to march through town and spread out for miles to camp and forage. The population of Monroe County was nearly doubled by the size of the army that occupied Union. The Monroe County Heritage Days organizers are seeking volunteers, reenactors, and living historians to bring this history alive. This living history event will attempt to portray the 1864 Federal occupation of Union’s historic district and surroundings. There will be an encampment in the fields surrounding the town’s Confederate Memorial. There will be drills, demonstrations throughout the encampment. In Union and the vicinity there are several historic structures (log cabins, homes, churches, and the stately Elmwood mansion), which will serve as scenes for scenarios of events that happened (documented, first person accounts). We would like to have civilian (local ‘southerners) impressions to portray the townsfolk and how they will be ‘dealing with the Yankee troop’s ‘foragers’ as they occupy the town. There will be an initial ‘skirmish’ with local Home Guard by the forward skirmishers of the Federal’s leading element. Friday will be arrivals and set-up of participants. Saturday, August 27th is the ‘main event’, that evening we will host a period dance. Sunday we are planning a period ‘church service’. Please join us!

For more information about the event and volunteering visit our web site:MCHDWV.COM and contact Chris Johnson at wvaca@hughes.net, or call (304)772-4712.